Medical Excuses

Schiffert Health Center does not provide students with medical excuses for missed classes due to short-term illness or injury. This is consistent with policies from other peer institutions and with American College Health Association recommendations. All students can view their appointment history using the Healthy Hokies Portal - a list of past appointment dates is available within the Medical Records tab. When an illness or injury occurs that may disrupt academic responsibilities, the student is advised to contact their instructor(s) as soon as possible to notify them of the situation.

In the event that the severity or length of a student’s illness/injury warrants a written document, the student is to be referred by the practitioner to the administrative assistant who will write the letter.

Cadets may be provided with recommendations for activity or uniform limitations by a practitioner by noting these limitations on the Visit Documentation slip. It is the cadet’s responsibility to provide these recommendations to his/her company commander.

The following is from the Virginia Tech Faculty Handbook (2025-26 Edition) Instruction-Related Policies:

“9.6.2 Class Attendance. Class meetings are an integral part of most courses and the central component of many. Therefore, both faculty and students are expected to meet at all regularly scheduled times, except for cancellations announced on a universitywide basis by appropriate authority.

If a faculty member cannot meet a class, departmental or school procedures should be followed so that appropriate measures are taken to provide for the missed class.

If a student cannot attend a class, they may notify their instructor(s) directly or contact the Office of the Dean of Students, whose staff can provide advocacy through its absence verification process. The Office of the Dean of Students considers absence verification for any of the following reasons: illness or death of a family member or friend; off-campus medical appointments or hospital admission; court subpoenas; military orders; and observances of religious, cultural, ethnic, meaning-making, or faith-based beliefs.

Staff members send an absence verification notice to the college dean, who then forwards the verification to the instructor(s). If upon a good faith evaluation an instructor believes that accommodating an absence negatively affects the course of study, students can contact the Office of the Dean of Students for continued advocacy and guidance. Students are responsible for making arrangements with the instructor as soon as possible to complete any work missed due to absence. If this work differs from the original exam or assignment, it must be appropriately related to course objectives and no more difficult than the original.

Faculty determine their attendance policy, including whether they will accommodate absences and how they will do so. However, in accordance with the Virginia Tech Principles of Community, faculty are encouraged to accommodate students when the observance of religious, cultural, ethnic, meaning- making, or faith-based beliefs conflict with academic requirements. Students who choose to request an excused absence directly from their instructor(s) due to a religious observance should do so during the first two weeks of classes or as soon as they become aware of the need for an accommodation.”